How to change a life
by Mie779
Summary: A small (okay somewhat long...;) one shot that wouldn't leave me alone until it got written... :P Scenario: Maria goes swimming with the children AND the captain... uh body contact is ensured ;) *wink* Timeline: set between the moment Maria returns from the Abbey, the time is earlier in the afternoon, and their dinner. (the children don't run to dinner). This WILL change their life


How to change a life.

**A/N: The story is set on the day when Maria returns from the abbey, but then the timeline changes slightly, the children don't run to the dinner… The time of the day is earlier in the afternoon… It might be slightly OOC… Just think of it as something fun that happened up in my head…. ;) The rating is a small T… nothing too much; just want to be on the safe side ;)**

_-"Oh _dear_ lord what have I gotten myself into"_ Maria thought to herself while she cast an apprehensive look at the small piece of blue fabric lying on her bed. Her mind whirled back to how this whole ordeal had started about half an hour earlier.

_She had just returned to the villa, and had learned that_ her_… the Captain was marrying the Baroness. When the news had hit her brain she had __shut off any__ emotions or feelings she had thought she had felt for the man, and was now only focusing on the children, and "the obligation" she had to fulfill. _

_She had stayed in the garden with the children and they were soon engaged in different games. The heat was causing them to have several breaks to cool down with some lemonade or just relaxing under a shady tree. In one of these breaks Martha had asked out of the blue: "could we go swimming Fraulein Maria?" the question had taken Maria by surprise, they had never gone swimming in the weeks before, and she looked at the young girl with a raised eyebrow. Soon all the children had taken the idea on as their own and now they all pleaded Maria to go swimming. _

_Maria placed both hands on either side of her heated face, sure the weather was warm enough to go swimming, but her mind whirled around the fact that she had no swimwear of any kind, being a postulant, this was not part of her wardrobe. When she pointed this out to the children Liesl had stated: "you could borrow one of mine…" and when Maria had looked rather doubtful at the young girl, seeing as she was a good seize or two smaller than Maria, Liesl had explained: "I have one of mother's laying in my closet, it is a seize or two too large for me right now. I have saved it as a memory of our mother; she loved to swim in the lake with us and our father." _

_This information didn't help Maria in her argumentation of why she couldn't go swimming and when she looked down into the pleading eyes of Gretl and Martha she felt her last defense crumble to pieces. _

_-"Oh alright we'll go swimming," she flung her hands out in the air in defiance and quickly added with a raised finger: "…if your father agrees!" The von Trapp children all shouted out in glee and ran for the house. When they reached the terrace they saw Georg, Max and the Baroness all walking out of the door, followed by a servant carrying a tray with pink lemonade and glasses. _

_When Georg saw his happy children he grinned down at them asking why they seemed so happy. _

_-"We're going to swim in the lake with Fraulein Maria." Martha exclaimed, the small girl could hardly stand still from the excitement._

_-"If your father agrees, remember!" Maria clarified with a stern voice, and then looked nervously at her employer, she had no idea if he would like his children to go swimming in the lake. Georg caught her eyes and saw her nervousness over this whole idea, and he silently tried to hide his admiration over this young woman, who seemed to stop at nothing to make his children happy, even the possible wrath of their father. _

_-"Oh you want to go swimming in the lake, who ever came up with that idea, Fraulein?" Georg asked with a mock raised eyebrow, as if this whole thing had been her idea. But before Maria had a chance to speak her case, Martha had shouted: "I did, father, I… I mean we all want to go swimming, and Fraulein Maria said we could but only if you say yes. Could we please go swimming farther, please?" Martha had placed her small hands around one of his large hands and looked pleadingly into her fathers eyes. Something that she had not dared to do weeks before, but now their relationship to their father had improved greatly due to the work of their Fraulein Maria._

_-"Oh alright, why not, the weather sure seems fit for swimming, come to think of it I think I'll join you all." This last statement brought forth a magnitude of excitement among the children, all jumping up and down. Georg turned his head towards his friend Max and raised his eyebrow, but Max raised his hands and shaking his head: "no, no, leave me out of this, I'm not much for swimming, I'll just keep the lovely Baroness entertained." Max nodded his head towards Elsa who sat elegantly with her legs crossed and drinking lemonade. She smiled sweetly at Max then looked at her fiancé, for the life of her she could not phantom why a swim in the lake would appeal so much to him. But seeing as he was a retired navy captain he must have some sort of love of the water elements. She told Georg that she wouldn't mind spending some time here with Max._

_Georg turned to walk into the house to get changed, and noticed that Maria hadn't moved one bit. He noticed the slight apprehension in her eyes and raised a questioning eyebrow her way. Then Martha started to pull her towards the house, impatience evident in the young girl._

_-"Oh Martha, well… I… that is… uhmm… since your father is going swimming I might just stay on dry land… I…" Maria stammered out in a feeble attempt to avoid going swimming with the children and her employer no less. _

_Martha pouted instantly and was close to tears, then Liesl spoke up: "Oh please join us, I could really use the help with the young ones in the shallow water; I don't think the others would be of much help, they are probably going to race or play a ball game with father once they hit the water."_

_Maria had no real counter excuse to this reasoning, so she just flung her hands up in defiance and walked into the house._

Now she was looking at the small piece of fabric that Liesl had given her minutes earlier, she held the swimsuit up and gave it a closer inspection. It had somewhat broad shoulder straps, something that eased Maria's nerves slightly, but she still felt as if she would be revealing way too much skin to be appropriate in a situation like this. With dread she noticed that the back would only cover half her back, leaving most of her shoulders and upper back with nothing to cover up her skin. She shortly contemplated to wear something over the skimpy piece of fabric, but the only thing that came to mind was her nightgown but given the length of that, it probably would be too much.

The suit was cut slim around the waist, and then flared out into a short skirt that did cover up most of the upper part of her thighs, also a thing that Maria was pleased about. Then she continued to remove her clothes and slipped into the dark blue swim suit. It took some minutes of readjusting the fabric over her body before she felt ready to go downstairs. In a last minute resort to keep herself decent she flung her dressing gown around her shoulders and tied the sash around her waist. Then she grabbed a towel from her bathroom and walked out into unknown territory.

When she got closer and closer to the terrace she felt more and more nervous, she was not feeling ready to show herself in anything that looked liked the small piece of fabric now covering her body. And the knowledge of her employer being there as well did not quell her uneasiness, only hours ago she had shut off any feelings she thought she had felt for the man, and now she would be seeing him in his swimwear. Not fully knowing what male swimwear looked like she was slightly cautious on what would happen next.

Trying to empty her head of thoughts about the Captain dressed in swimwear she shook her head and opened the doors to the terrace. Then she was first faced with Max and the Baroness, still sitting by the table sipping pink lemonade. She nodded her head in a polite greeting and unconsciously clutched her dressing grown closer around her body. Then she walked down to the lake, and walked to the right, where there was a small dock with a ladder leading down into the water. She saw that all of the children already had changed into their swimwear and the eldest was already splashing around in the cool water. Liesl stood in the shallow water with the two youngest girls, who both jumped up and down in excitement.

When Maria came into their eyesight the two small girls shouted out in delight, and ran up on dry land to greet their Fraulein.

-"Oh the water is so wonderful, Fraulein Maria, you must come in now." Gretl jumped up and down in excitement and started to pull Maria towards the water.

Maria laughed at the girl's obvious delight over their swimming trip. Then she placed her towel next to the picnic blanket the children had brought along, and started to open the sash in her dressing gown, but was stopped short when she heard the excited voice of Martha.

-"Father! Father, Fraulein Maria is going swimming with us now." The girl's voice carried over the lake and reached Georg who was engaged in a ball game with the Fredrick, Kurt, Louisa and Brigitta. When he heard Maria's name, he stopped in his attempt to reach the ball that have been tossed his way by Fredrick. He turned his head towards the lake side and saw Maria dressed in a dressing gown, and in a short second he wondered if she would be swimming in that, but then he noticed her hands on the sash as if she was going to take it off.

Maria looked out in the lake and found the Captain staring back at her; she gulped down a bit of air and turned her back to the lake. She looked down at her now shaking hands, still clutching the sash. How on earth was she supposed to jump into the lake dressed in the small piece of blue fabric covering her body? She had _never_ gone swimming before and had _never_ dreamed that she would ever be dressed in such a small piece of clothing.

Maria was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Gretl's small hand pulling on her arm while asking: "are you not coming, Fraulein?" Maria looked down to the impatient girl, and gave her a feeble smile, and then she nodded her head and said: "I'm coming in just a moment, just need to get out of this." She pointed to her dressing gown.

Gretl nodded her head and ran to the lake again. Then Maria untied the sash and slowly pulled the dressing gown down her body. She felt goose bumps rising on her body, not knowing how everyone would react to her swimsuit. She had noticed that Liesl's swimsuit was in a somewhat similar cut and design, but in a dark green color.

Georg had not moved while Maria had shortly talked with Gretl, and now he unconsciously held his breath while he looked at Maria removing her dressing gown. When she shrugged the material over her shoulders and revealed her backside he gulped down a breath of air. Liesl had told him that it was one of Agathe's swimsuits she had lend to Maria, but for the life of him he couldn't remember Agathe ever wearing this dark blue swimsuit. It had to have been a new one she had just never had a chance of wearing. Feeling some of his old grief over his wife's death wash over him, he inhaled sharply, but was soon pulled out of his dark thoughts when Maria had taken the dressing gown off her body.

When she had put the dressing gown next to her towel she turned around slowly, facing the lake. The first thing she noticed was the Captain still looking at her, and in that instant she felt more self-conscious than she had ever done in her entire life. Unconsciously she adjusted the shoulder straps of the swim suit and pulled the skirt further down her legs, trying to cover up more of her body. Still feeling the obvious stare from the Captain she slowly moved to the lake.

Georg had not moved one inch and had not paid any attention to his four oldest children around him, still engaged in their ball game. His eyes were glued to the woman now walking into the water, dressed in a stunning blue swimsuit. The blue of the fabric highlighted her strawberry blond hair; the sun gave her hair an extra glow that gave her an angelic look. But dressed in the slim fit swimsuit she was anything but angelic, a true seductress that's what she was. For a second he wondered if she knew herself just how amazing she looked in that swimsuit, but given the fact that she was going to be a nun he highly doubted this.

The next second he was knocked out of his reveries when he was hit in the back of his head with the ball. He turned around and in an instant he saw who had been the culprit as Friedrick had a look of horror in his face. Georg started to look stern but the next second his face split into a grin that told his oldest son that there were no hard feelings. Only then did Friedrick let his laughter roll out, it had looked rather funny when the ball had hit his father.

-"Oh so you find it funny to throw things at your father." Georg said in mock sternness, and then he dove into the water in a chase for his mischievous children.

Maria had paused in her tracks when she had heard his voice, and the sight that greeted her was not something she had seen before. It's not every day that a nun-to-be sees a fit and well proportioned man dive into the water, and seconds later resurface from the water rising to his full high, with water dripping down his body. The Captain moved his wet hair out of his face and shook off the water from his face. His back was partly turned away from Maria, but she clearly saw the evidence of his rather muscled backside, still wet and glistering in the sun. Maria felt her mouth go dry while she kept her eyes transfixed to the male specimen currently engaged in a play wrestle with his oldest son. Laughter was heard and soon the three other children had rushed in to help their brother in wrestling with their father. Soon they were all hanging on their father in an attempt to duck him under the water.

-"Fraulein Maria?" a small voice said next to Maria, but it seemed as if their Fraulein had not heard the voice of Martha, the girl tried again: "Fraulein Maria?" the girl took one of Maria's hands and pulled impatiently on it. Only then did Maria realize that someone tried to talk to her.

-"Oh sorry darling, didn't hear you, what do you need?" Maria shook her head trying to remove the image of a wet Captain. She turned around and saw Liesl and Gretl stand a few meters away, Liesl held a rather curious and puzzled look. When she saw Maria raise an eyebrow she smiled sweetly at her Fraulein as if she had no idea what Maria asked of her. Maria had a suspicion as to what the teenager had been thinking about, and she cast a quick look over her shoulder and saw that the Captain had managed to escape his children and now swam in high speed away from them. The four children tried their best to catch up to their father.

Maria smiled for herself at the image and when she turned around again she saw Liesl raise one of her eyebrows and an even sweeter smile on her lips. Maria shook her head, silently warning the teenager not to move further with her thoughts, there was absolutely _nothing_ going on here. What ever feelings she might have had for the man, she had buried hours ago. He _was_ going to marry the Baroness and that would be the end of that story. Maria tried to keep her emotions at bay, but somewhere deep down she felt her carefully constructed walls slightly crumpling.

Then Maria hunched down to Martha and asked again: "so what do you want to do now?" She could see the joy in the girl's eyes.

-"I want to learn how to swim like father, can you teach me. Please." Martha looked expectantly up at her beloved Fraulein, still a little too young to go in the deeper waters she really wanted to learn how to swim and be part of the fun the older children seemed to have.

Maria smiled at Martha, she saw the dream of swimming in the girl's eyes, and felt sad that she didn't knew how to help the poor girl; the fact was that Maria herself had never learned to swim.

-"Well you see… the thing is… I don't really know how to swim myself." When the words registered in Martha's mind, the girl's eyes grew large in surprise.

-"Why?" The voice was a little doubtful, the girl had had a belief that all grownups would know how to swim.

-"Hmm, that is a little hard to explain, but guess I didn't live close enough to a lake, and… I guess I just never got a chance to ever learn how to swim." Maria answered feebly, she didn't want to go into detail on her rather miserable childhood, she was not sure the young girl would fully understand anyway. The girl seemed to accept the answer and Maria sighed in relief.

This relief was short lived as she saw Martha's eye move to something behind her and the girl exclaimed: "Father, did you know that Fraulein Maria can't swim?" The girl moved around Maria and jumped up into her fathers arms.

Georg held on to his daughter while he looked at Maria with a small smile playing around his lips.

-"Is that so, guess there are not many lakes on your beloved Governess's mountain." Georg said with a small laugh, but it was cut short by his daughter's next question.

-"Could you teach her?"

Both adults looked down at Martha in disbelief, and then they both looked back up at each other. Maria was already trying to come up with excuses why that wasn't a great idea. Georg on the other hand tried to figure out how he could teach Maria how to swim. He soon realized that if he was to teach her how to swim it had to involve some form of body contact, and he wasn't all that sure how that would fare. Looking at the young woman in front of him he clearly saw in her eyes that she wasn't all that keen on the whole idea. But when both Martha and Gretl started to jump up and down in excitement over the prospect to see their Fraulein learning to swim, Maria's resolve slowly crumpled.

-"Okay girls, please calm down, you have not asked if your Fraulein really want to learn how to swim." Georg tried to calm his over excited girls down. But both girls just held on to Maria's hands looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Maria was torn, how could she say no to the little girls now hanging on to her arms, but on the other hand she was pretty sure that if she said yes she would have to be close, real close to the Captain. That fact made her slightly apprehensive over the whole matter; she had _never_ been so close to any man. Huge butterflies began to flutter around in her stomach, and she felt their wings starting to knock down more of her carefully build walls around her heart.

-"Well should we start a swim lesson or not?" Georg asked Maria, he could see that her hesitance was crumbling, while his daughters kept asking her over and over again: "Please Fraulein Maria, it could be so much fun, and then you can teach us."

Maria threw her hands up in the air in defiance and nodded her head. All seven children had come to find out what was going on, and they all shouted out with joy.

-"So have you ever been in a lake before?" Maria shook her head, then he continued: "Alright then let's start with the basic, floating. Come on over to the dock and the ladder here." Maria walked over to the ladder leading up to the dock and turned around, only to find the Captain standing right behind her. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of his bare chest being so close to her, unconsciously her eyes travelled over the expanse of his hairy chest.

Georg noticed her eyes moving over his chest, and he grinned for himself, oh this woman sure was no expert in being with a man. Her inexperience was evident in her huge eyes filled with wonder.

Then he instructed her to hold on one of the steps that was just below the water and let her body float in the water. Maria was not sure how to do this, but she held on tightly to the step and moved her feet backwards, letting her body float. The sensation was new to her, and she was a bit unsure if she did it right, so she looked to the side, looking up at the Captain to see how she was doing.

-"Okay, you're doing great, but please let your back be a little bit more straight, and lift up your behind a bit more." Georg instructed and moved a bit closer, and before Maria fully understood what he wanted she felt his hands around her waist. "Like this". He lifted up her body so it floated at the surface of the water.

Maria's mind suddenly shut off when he felt his large hands around her waist; it was by far the closest she had ever been to a man, not even when they had dances the Laendler. The warmth from his hands emanated to the inside of her stomach, making the still fluttering butterflies fly at double speed. She tried to focus on making her body float on its own, but her focus point was pulled to the two hands still around her waist.

After a few more moments Georg tried to move his hands from her slim waist, testing to see if her floating technique had improved. He could still feel her body heat on his hands; it had been hard for him to stay focused when he had placed his hands around her. His mind was trying not to focus on just how amazing she looked in that blue swimsuit, her back was bare down to where her spine did a slight slope inwards. It was enough to distract any man around, he was sure about that.

-"Okay I think you got the hang of it, now move your legs up and down." Maria started to move her legs up and down, again looking up at him to see if she did it right. He nodded his head: "you're doing great Fraulein."

After some time of leg practice, Georg had Maria stand up and practice arm movements. She tried hard to focus on what he wanted her to do, but she seemed to fail miserably. Then Georg moved up behind her, and when she felt his chest close to her back she inhaled sharply, her mind had gone completely blank at that moment. Even though he was not touching her skin she still felt the heat radiate from his body. Then he reached around and took hold of her arms.

-"Just like this." Georg instructed and moved her arms the correct way; he tried not to focus on just how close he had moved to her body, and just how amazing her hair smelled of strawberries and flowers. His head was right next to hers and he craned his neck slightly trying to gauge the expression on her face. It seemed as if she had her whole focus on her arm movements, but he could also see that her face had turned slightly redder.

Somewhere deep within Georg some male pride was growing, it seemed as if she was not immune to male closeness. Suddenly he was met with her blue eyes only inches away from his own. She looked confused as if she didn't understand something, then he realized that he had stopped moving her arms. When Georg recognized this he smiled cheekily at her, and then gave her a small wink.

Maria felt her face heat up even more, their faces was closer than they had been while dancing the Laendler. She felt her breath getting caught in her throat and she had no idea where to look. This was getting far more intimate than she felt comfortable with, and she knew that the children all were still observing their every move, even though they appeared to be engaged in a ball game in the shallow waters so the youngest could play along.

-"Ah well… eh… why don't you try to combine arm and leg movements, just let your body float like when at the stairs and start moving your arms and legs." Georg was slightly surprised how thick his voice sounded at that moment.

Maria tried to do as he instructed, the first attempt was not the best, she felt her body go under and she swallowed some water. She stood up; spluttering out the lake water, then moved her now wet hair away from her face.

Georg was a bit worried when he saw her go under, but sighed in relief when she stood up. Then he was suddenly speechless when he saw how she moved her hair away from her face. Water droplets ran down her face, down to her neck and further down her chest. Her coughing brought him out of his reveries.

-"That went well." Maria stated dryly, still trying to cough up the last lake water. She looked up at her "swim teacher", and saw his eyes move over her body, she realized that she was only standing in somewhat shallow water that only reached under her breasts. She felt her cheeks go red in an instant when she realized that he was looking towards the area below her neck. Trying to cover herself up she wrapped her arms around her chest, this only caused her cleavage to show even more, but she didn't notice this herself.

Georg did notice this change and he had to gulp down a breath of air before removing his eyes from her body. He turned sideways and gestured out into the lake and said: "ah well you can give it another try…it will take some practice before you get the hang of it."

Maria nodded her head, took in a deep breath of air and let her body slide down into the water again, this time making sure that she did her arm _and_ leg movements just the way the Captain had instructed.

This time she managed to move through the water and she felt herself growing a big smile on her face, she did it! She stopped her swim strokes and moved her legs towards the bottom of the lake; the only problem was that there was no bottom anymore. She had gotten out into the deeper end of the lake. Frantically she moved her arms and legs in an attempt to keep herself above water.

When Georg noticed this he immediately dove down into the water at swam the short distance out to Maria, who by now had managed to keep herself afloat. Georg could see the slight panic in her eyes and without thinking too much about it he grabbed her around her waist with one arm and swam the short distance to where he could reach the bottom.

Reflectively Maria flung her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. Her heart was beating wildly, both from the shock of not finding the bottom of the lake under her feet, but also from the fact that she was now as close to the Captain as she had ever been before. Her breathing was shallow and quick, and she tried not to focus on the amazing feelings running through her body, when she felt his strong arm around her waist.

When Georg had reached the place where he could reach the bottom he stood up, still with Maria clinging on to his shoulders. She was somewhat shorter than he, so she was still not able to stand up herself, as so she was still clinging onto his shoulders, in an effort to keep herself above water.

Georg quickly moved a few meters further to shore, to a place where he knew she could stand up on her own. Then he gently eased her down on her feet.

-"It's okay you can stand up now." Georg said gently, and lowered her body down. In the process her hands slipped from around his neck and slid down his chest. When Georg felt her small hands resting at the top of his chest his breath got caught in his throat. For several seconds he just stood there looking down into the eyes of the petite woman standing in his arms. Some small place in his brain told him that this was highly inappropriate to be this close to a woman who wasn't even engaged to him. But why did it have to feel so right having this amazing woman in his arms? The mere thought alone made him shutter with new emotions that he had not felt in years, not since he had met Agathe. Realizing where his thoughts were leading him he suddenly was pulled out of his reverie and took on step back. He inhaled deeply trying to regain some form of composure.

Maria had just lost any sense of the world around her while they had stood so close; her only thought was the amazing feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach. Her hands burned with heat emanating from his chest, she felt the small chest hair tickling the palm of her hand. She was filled with mixed feelings about what she experienced at that moment. Never in her life had she imagined to feel something as powerful as she did right now, being near any man had never evoked such strong feelings within her. Not that she had _ever_ been this close to any man, again something that she had not seen being part of her life. Her whole life had been focused on the fact that she wanted to become a nun, now she suddenly felt her carefully laid plans crumple before her eyes. A thought that sent chills up her spin, in the good kind of way.

When Georg stepped back they both averted the others eyes, and the sudden outburst from one of the children brought them the needed distraction from their newfound feelings. Neither one of them was fully aware of just how much this day would change their lives.

Maria slowly walked towards the children, welcoming the distraction; she took deep calming breaths of air, calming her still beating heart. When she was near the children she lowered her body down into the water and crawled alligator style towards Gretl who stood with her back to her. When Maria got closer she started to playfully growl like an alligator. When Gretl heard this she twirled around and when she saw her beloved governess move in on her she squealed in delight.

-"Beware of the alligator; the tickling alligator is moving in to tickle everyone." Maria playfully whispered in a low and growling voice. Gretl laughed and made a run for it, unlucky for her the "alligator" was slightly faster and when she was caught she was tickled merciless.

Georg had not moved, he watched in awe how Maria had changed from being stunned in his arms, he was sure she had felt something too, to being playful and chasing his children around like an alligator. He laughed at the antics he now saw, and his heart was bursting with joy seeing his children so happy. He knew that the only person he had to thank for his children's and his own, happiness was the amazing woman now playing "tickling alligator" with his children.

Liesl left the others and swam out to her father; she had noticed that he had not moved in together with Maria. She had seen how he had helped her get in when Maria had lost her footing, and had also noticed how much time the adults had been standing close together. The teenager had been quit observant in the past 10 minutes, and deep down she knew something was going on between her father and Maria. Something quite similar to what she felt when she was together with Rolfe. The thought made her smile, but she also knew that she was not supposed to say anything about it, she was sure her father would not approve of it.

-"Hi Liesl, you didn't get caught by the alligator?" Georg asked with a smile. Liesl just grinned and shook her head.

-"I'll take a swim while the others are playing alligator." Liesl announced, Georg nodded his head and said: "I'll go with you if you don't mind, I need the exercise" Liesl smiled, it was not that often that she was all alone with her father. The two made it out into the deeper waters and swam at a modest pace out into the lake.

In the mean time Maria had gone tired of being the alligator, it was now Friedrick who had taken over the role and chased his siblings around in the shallow water. They all had fun and were enjoying their time in the water.

Maria had noticed Liesl and Georg going out for a swim and she smiled to herself, happy that the oldest von Trapp child had some alone time with her father. When her thoughts turned to the Captain she felt her heart flutter wildly, and it shocked her just how much a mere thought about that certain man would affect her heart rate. She shook her head and returned her focus on the children. After some time the two youngest started to beg Maria to teach them how to swim. She smiled and within minutes they had a swim lesson in the making. She had help from some of the older children, helping the younger ones stay above water. Gretl was the one who had the most difficult time to figure out how to swim.

At one point Maria tried to show her how it was done, by swimming further out into the lake, but still close enough for Gretl to see how she worked with both arms and legs at the same time. Suddenly Maria felt a sharp pain in her lower leg and she had to stop swimming, luckily she had not gotten that far out, so she could stand on the bottom of the lake. But the pain was still there. The children saw her discomfort and Fredrick shouted out to their farther: "Father, Fraulein Maria needs help, she is hurt."

Georg and Liesl had started to make their way back to the shore when they heard Fredrick shout out. When he heard that Maria was hurt, he speed up, and within a minute he was at Maria's side.

-"Where are you hurt?" Georg asked in concern, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Maria's face was twisted in pain; she had reached down to her leg holding on to where the pain was.

-"I… think I got a cramp, my calf muscle is hurting badly… don't think… I can walk." She managed to get out of her gritted teeth.

Georg saw her pained face and made a quick decision and scooped up Maria in his arms. Maria was slightly taken by surprise by this, and by instinct she flung her arms around his neck. The next second she cried out in pain and moved on of her hands down to her calf. The pain was getting worse now that she was being moved around.

-"Shh, it's okay, just hang on, we'll get you on dry land and then we can work on making that cramp go away." Georg reassured her, and then he walk as quickly as possible towards the shore. When he got into where the children were he ordered everyone out of the water and made Liesl in charge of drying the youngest off so they would not get cold.

Maria was trying not to focus on the searing pain still shooting down her leg. While they walked to shore she unconsciously rested her head on the Captain's shoulder, the warmth from his skin somehow calmed her down.

When they reached the picnic blanket Georg gently eased Maria to sit down, then he grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. Maria thanked him and pulled it closer around her now slightly shaking body.

Georg noticed this and saw the pain written all over her face, even though she did try to appear calm in front of the children. He quickly bends down on his knees and took her pained leg in his hands, and his inside winched when he heard her moan out in pain. The muscle sure was in a cramp, and quickly he instructed Maria to try and stretch her leg. Then he placed one hands gently around her foot and the other on the pained muscle. Slowly he put pressure on her foot, bending it upwards. When Maria felt this she cried out in pain.

-"Ouch that really hurts." Maria's voice trembled and she felt small tears in the corner of her eyes. She bit down on her lower lip, and send a brave smile to the two youngest children sitting nearby together with Liesl, they both had towels wrapped around them. The other four children was now playing ball on the grass nearby.

-"Sorry, but we have to work out the cramp this way. Please try to take deep breaths down into your abdomen; it will help you overcome the pain." Georg explained, while his insides winched by the fact that he too was now hurting her. But he knew he had to stretch the muscle bit by bit, while he gently massaged the muscle, which was still coiled into a hard knot.

After several minutes of gently stretching and massaging the muscle Maria started to feel the muscle tension ease up slightly and she felt that she could breath a bit more easily again. She was now very much aware of where the Captains hands were at the moment, _never_ had any man touched her feet or calf. The warmth of his gentle hands started to spread up her legs and touched something deep inside her, a place that she had shut off only hours earlier when she had learned that he was going to marry the Baroness. She scolded herself for even looking behind the barrier that she had build up, but her fluttering heart told her otherwise.

Georg had been focused on making the pain go away and slowly he felt that the tension in her calf muscle eased up. It made him happy that he could help her with her pain. He had kept his eyes on what he was doing, and was now more and more amazed how small and petit her foot was. How had he not noticed this? Her leg felt smooth beneath his hands, like silk he thought. When he was sure that the muscle was well again he looked back up at Maria, her eyes was closed and her head was leaned slightly backwards, giving him an amazing view of her slender neck. He gulped down a bit of air when he saw her so relaxed, and the small water droplets still dripping from her wet hair did nothing to sooth his beating heart. The water dripped down her face, and then travelled down her neck and further down her cleavage that was partly covered by the towel.

Maria felt his hands slow down and she opened up her eyes and when she saw the Captain looking straight into her eyes, she felt her breathing stop for a second. His eyes were filled with a burning fire that she both feared slightly and yet it made her heart flutter with some unknown feelings. She made a feeble attempt to smile at him; all the while she felt her face heat up under his burning eyes.

Georg returned her smile then cleared his throat and said: "I think your leg is fine now, try moving your leg a bit and see for yourself." Slowly he let go of her leg, and suddenly he missed the warmth of her skin on his hands, he rubbed his slightly shaking hands on his thighs trying to calm his nerves. Whatever it was that he was feeling at the moment he was sure that it was going to change his, and hers, life in a way neither one of them could ever imagine. Thinking about his engagement to Elsa his heart dropped in his chest, still looking at Maria who now tested her leg, he suddenly realized he was about to make a big mistake and he had to fix this before it was too late.

He was not sure how he could accomplish this, but slowly he recognized the feelings he had for Maria, it was nothing but _love_. It was that simple, and it filled his heart with peace when he came to this realization.

Maria had looked down ather leg while she tested out how her muscle had no more pain, it was still a bit sore but she was sure that she would be able to walk again. She smiled and looked back up at the Captain with gratitude in her eyes. When her blue eyes met his, she suddenly felt heat running to her face again; his stare was burning with such intensity that it took her breath away. The wall around her heart cracked even more and she tried to get hold on the emotions running through her heart. She was no expert in all these matters, and she had no clue what his burning eyes really meant, and why her heart raced so fast whenever he just looked at her. All she knew was that she felt peace when being around this man and he had touched something deep inside of her. It was hard for her to recognize her feelings as love, since she had no experience with love.

-"Thank you." Maria whispered with gratitude in her voice, it was all she could say at the moment, she was not sure what else to do right now.

Georg cleared his throat and said: "You're welcome, eh… why don't you sit and rest for a while before we head back to the house for dinner." Georg pulled his eyes away from her mesmerizing blue orbs, and then rubbed his neck in a nervous gesture. Then he rose up and shouted out for the older children, who still played a ball game, and then he joined in on the game.

Maria followed him with her eyes; she was amazed how he moved his body, in a slow and controlled manner. The muscles in his back moved with every step he took and the sight made something deep inside of her purr and hum in away that scared her slightly. A giggle from one of the young girls pulled her out of her reveries; she closed her eyes tightly trying to remove the image of the captain clad in only his swimwear. She scolded herself to dwell on these thoughts and feelings, the man was engaged to another woman, _and _she was going to be a nun. A nun? Thoughts of doubt entered her mind the second she thought about this. She shook her head and rested it on her knees, it was not proper in any way possible. She had always dreamt of becoming a nun, but now, meeting this amazing man… eh family… she was not so sure anymore.

After several minutes of an inner debate with herself she took in a deep breath of air and willed her mind to just forget it all and continue as nothing had ever happened. She was here on Gods errand, and she had an obligation to fulfill and she was determined not to let down these amazing children.

Then she moved over to sit closer to the girls who were entertained by their big sister, who was telling them a fairytale story. Maria gave Liesl a small nod of gratitude; she was pleased that the young woman had helped with the young ones while she had been in pain. Liesl smiled in return, in her own mind she smiled wider as she had seen just about everything that had happened between her father and Maria. She was pretty sure now that something had happened between the adults, and within her heart she was overjoyed with this outcome, and she was sure her siblings would love it just as much. She just hoped that they both would admit it to themselves before her father went of and married the Baroness.

When the ball players got too exhausted to play anymore they came over and sat down on the blanket. They rested for a while and then Georg announced that it was about time they got ready for dinner. He had deliberately placed himself as far away from Maria as possible, he was not sure how much of his feelings he could hide from his very observant older children. At one point he was sure that Liesl had looked at him and Maria with a rather curious but also satisfied look on her face.

Maria rose to her feet and tested her leg, it was still a bit sore but she tried to take a step forward, she wobbled a bit, feeling unsteady on her legs. Georg moved to her side without thinking too much about it, then he placed his arm around her waist and the other took hold of her arm. Maria made a feeble protest, but Georg stated: "Oh no, we can't have you walking around on your own yet. Please let me help you."Maria nodded her head quietly, and tried not to focus on how amazing it felt walking here beside Geo… eh the Captain. She was feeling more and more lightheaded the more they walked. But her feelings were cut short when she noticed the elegant figure of Elsa looking down at them from the terrace. She felt her heart break slightly; she knew there was no hope of things ever to change between herself and the Captain.

Elsa watched her fiancé walk up the steps, still holding on to the slightly limping Maria. Some of her sophisticated pride crumpled to pieces while she watched the two, and beneath the growing pile of ruble she recognized the feeling of defeat. She had seen them close together in the water, and even from the distance she noticed their body language towards each other, it was obvious to everyone looking. When Georg had helped Maria with her cramp Elsa had looked closer at the couple and within her she felt pangs of jealousy and sadness over the fact that her fiancé clearly felt some form of attraction towards his governess. No one needed to tend for _that _long to cure a simple leg cramp.

Looking closer at the younger woman Elsa could clearly see that the soon ex-nun-to-be was obviously clueless as to how her life was going to change dramatically. Georg on the other hand was more poised and somewhat at ease by this new turn of events.

When they reached the terrace Georg looked up and noticed that Elsa was standing up by the table with a rather puzzled yet somewhat hurtful look on her face. He could clearly see the growing understanding of his new attraction towards Maria and he then and there _knew_ he had to talk to Elsa, soon.

Turning around to Liesl who now walked up the stairs together with the two youngest, he said: "Liesl do me a favor and help Maria up to her room, please. There is half an hour until dinner time, please help her get the children ready. Thank you."

Liesl nodded her head, and placed an arm around Maria who let out a weak attempt to let the girl know that she was perfectly capable of moving on her own. Georg watched the two women walk into the house followed by his two youngest girls. Looking back out in the garden he noticed that his four oldest still ran around on the grass chasing each other. Giving a short whistle with his lips he caught their attention: "everyone needs to go inside to get ready for dinner. Now! You got half an hour."

Friedrick, Kurt, Louisa and Brigitta all scrambled up to the house, running inside, neither one of the heard their fathers final reprimand: "No running in the house!"

Only then did he turn his attention towards Elsa and Max, the later sat with a knowing smirk plastered to his lips. Georg paid no attention to him. He knew how his friend could be like at times. Looking at Elsa he walked over to her and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek.

-"Hmm did you _enjoy_ yourself swimming with the children?" Elsa said sweetly, trying not to notice how amazing Georg looked without his shirt on; he had his towel draped casually over his broad shoulders. She had left out Maria's name on purpose, not seeing the need to let Georg fully know how much she had seen of them together at the lake.

-"Yes, we _all_ had a marvelous time, just what the children needed in this heat." Georg looked into Elsa's eyes and the tiny glint of hurt in them, filled him with a bit of guilt over the fact that he now knew beyond any shadow of doubt that she would never be the new Baroness. All he knew was that he needed to talk to her, soon, later tonight perhaps. It was not going to happen with him dressed only in his swimwear and his old friend sitting close by to eavesdrop. He had noticed her eyes drift down to his chest once while they spoke, he smiled to himself; she was a woman no doubt about that, a woman who knew what she wanted.

-"Could we talk later tonight?" Georg asked gently, hoping she wouldn't be too alarmed by the slight seriousness in his voice.

Elsa gave him a small smile in return and said: "Ofcause darling, that would be lovely. I'll see you at dinner."

Georg nodded his head and walked into the house to get ready for dinner. His mind was filled with everything that had happened this afternoon down at the lake. Everything seemed to be about Maria, and how his heart had realized his attraction, no _love_, for the governess. The thoughts about Maria consumed him for the rest of the evening. During dinner all he was able to think about was how he would break this news gently towards Elsa. He had seen the hurt in her eyes and he knew that she must have seen something while looking at him and Maria by the lake.

Every time he looked at Maria during dinner he was just confirmed more and more in his decision to end things with Elsa, and hopefully start something with Maria. All he now hoped for was that Maria would not be scared off by his love for her. Silently praying to God for guidance he walked out to the terrace to get some fresh air after dinner.

The stillness of the night gave him peace in his mind and he felt more and more at ease by his decision to reach out and find love, real love, with Maria. Still deep in thought he suddenly noticed a small figure floating down the pathway to the lake. Dressed in the blue dress she almost looked out of this world, with the moonlight shining down on her. The image only made him all that much certain that he was doing the right thing. Things was about to change.

**A/N: I have always, ALWAYS believed that Georg only fully realizes that he actually LOVES Maria in the second where Elsa gives the line "and somewhere out there, I think, is a woman who will never be a nun"… the look on his face has captivated me from the first time I saw the movie as a young teenager ;) But this story is not following that idea, but I just had to write this story this way to make it work… At it **_**is**_** kinda OOC, but could get the blasted story out of my head… had to get it out of my system (even though it did take me some time :P ) and now I can go back on writing the Epilogue on Buttons 2… (Sorry for the long wait on that… :/ ) **

**The story it self was spawned from a talk about swimwear and swimming, we had on the facebook group… so if you need inspiration to stories to write come on over and join the fun… pm me if you want to know more. A huge thanks goes out to the lovely ladies in this group… and thanks to MaryAnne741 for beta reading this fic…. **

**And please throw in a review… thanks :D**


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